Fort2Base Race Training Plan

As the official ambassador of the Fort2Base Race, I have the pleasure of writing about my training plan and encouraging others to start thinking now about how they'll achieve the 10-nautical mile race. That's 11.5 miles, starting at Fort Sheridan and ending at the Great Lakes Naval Base on the 10-year anniversary of the Sept. 11 attacks. Coincidentally, the base is also celebrating its 100th anniversary during this inaugural race. Pretty cool, huh? The race will also benefit Salute, Inc., an organization that supports our military personnel and their families. There's so many reasons to be jazzed about this race.

Anyhoo, before I can claim my medal and finish the last 3.45 miles around the base, I've got to actually be able to run the distance. While I'm logging 15 or so miles a week already, including an eight-miler every weekend, I wanted to start at the beginning with my training and build a good base. I've chosen the Hal Higdon Half Marathon Training program for novice runners as an outline for my training. While the Fort2Base is just short of a half marathon, this 12-week program is a great starting point for anyone relatively new to competitive running who just wants to finish a race. I'm going to augment this plan with my favoritest cross training program ever, Insanity.

Tim and I bought Insanity this spring on craigslist and loved it. The plyometrics have improved my speed while the cardio really helps with my endurance.

Hal's plan calls for one day per week of stretching and strengthening, which I'll be using the Insanity cardio recovery DVDs for. The first four weeks, I'll use the Cardio Recovery DVD, the second four weeks I'll use the Core Cardio and Balance DVD and the last four weeks, I'll use the Max Cardio Recovery. This will allow me to ramp up the training.

Likewise, for the weekly cross training that Hal outlines, I'll be using a rotation of Insanity DVDs with the first six weeks featuring Level 1 workouts and the second six weeks featuring Level 2 workouts.

Tomorrow, I'll be blogging about what I'm eating to power all these runs and workouts.